Recent News

23 February 2015
Assistant Professor Shane Davis has won a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship for his work in theoretical and computational astrophysics. As noted in the letter from the Sloan Foundation President, Dr. Paul Joskow, "the Sloan Research Fellowships are extraordinarily competitive awards involving nominations for most of the very best early-career scientists from the United States and Canada." Shane came to U.Va. this fall from the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics. Before that, he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a prestigious NASA Chandra Fellow. Shane works on numerical simulations of accretion by black holes, star formation, and feedback, among other topics. The Sloan Fellowships were announced in a full page ad in the New York Times on Monday, February 23.

01 February 2015
A late announcement: The Astronomy Department is welcoming two
new faculty members this year. Shane Davis
joined us in the Fall from the Canadian Institute for Theoretical
Astrophysics. He is interested in all things theory ranging from
accretion flows to feedback from star formation. Professor Davis
is currently teaching the graduate level high-energy astrophysics
course.
Rob Garrod is an astrochemist who will be working with both
the astronomy and chemistry departments at UVa. He is currently
in the process of joining us from Cornell University. Professor
Garrod's research focuses on computational techniques studying
the formation of complex organic molecules in space. Welcome!

21 January 2015
With both the UVA Department of Astronomy and the National Radio
Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville has one of the largest
numbers of astronomers per capita in the world! An article published by the
UVA School of Arts and Sciences highlights the world-class
astronomical research occurring in Charlottesville. Check it
out here!

20 January 2015
Undergraduate
Catherine Zucker presented her research on Galactic "bones",
thin dense clouds of gas in the Milky Way, at the January 2015 American Astronomical
Society meeting in Seattle. Her research was
recently spotlighted in this
Space.com article, check it out!

5 November 2014
Postdoctoral Research Associate Sabrina Stierwalt has been awarded the L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Fellowship in recognition of her exceptional intellectual merit, potential for scientific advancement, and commitment to supporting women and girls in science. The grant will allow her to continue her work here at UVa on interacting dwarf galaxies with Professor Kelsey Johnson. Five fellows were chosen from over 650 applicants across all science disciplines, and Stierwalt is the first astronomer to be selected in the program's 11 year history! For more info, check out this article in PR News or this UVAToday article.

15 October 2014
Research Associate Professor Anne Verbiscer is working with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) discovery team to plan the next stop for the New Horizons spacecraft after it passes by Pluto. Professor Verbiscer helped search HST images (by eye) for a KBO to explore as New Horizons moves through the outermost parts of the Solar System. The target found by Professor Verbiscer and the rest of the team is designated "PT1" for "Potential Target 1." PT1 is probably about 30 to 45 kilometers in diameter at a distance of 6.5 billion kilometers from the Sun! The picture below shows Professor Verbiscer (second from right) with other team members: Marc Buie, Alex Parker, John Spencer, Cathy Olkin, and Simon Porter. For more information, check out this HST Press Release or this article by Emilky Lakdawalla.

03 October 2014
Associate Dean and Professor John Hawley has been awarded the UVA Distinguished Scientist Award by the Vice President for Research. The award cites John's work on computational astrophysics and accretion, and his discovery of the magneto-rotational instability with Steve Balbus. He is also cited for his teaching and service to the university.

17 September 2014
Associate Dean and Professor John Hawley has been appointed as the John Downman Hamilton Professor of Astronomy, a chair previously occupied by Professor Emeritus Larry Fredrick and Professor Emeritus Bob O'Connell.

12 July 2014
The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center recently released the new naming designations for several asteroids. Among the new designations are asteroids named (9727) Skrutskie, named after UVa Astronomy Professor Mike Skrutskie, (9726) Verbiscer, named after UVa Astronomy Research Associate Professor Anne Verbiscer, and (152985) Kenkellermann, named after NRAO Scientist and UVa Astronomy Visiting Faculty member Ken Kellermann.

16 April 2014
Professor Trinh
Thuan was decreed chevalier of the National Order of the
French Legion of Honor by the French President, François Hollande,
in recognition of his "exemplary personal commitment to the
promotion of scientific culture and the transatlantic
collaboration in the field of astrophysics.” For more information
check out
this UVa Today article or
listen to his interview on this radio broadcast.

15 April 2014
Associate Professor
Kelsey Johnson was awarded the UVa Distinguished Research
Career Development Award by the UVa Vice President for Research. She
is one of two newly tenured faculty at UVa to win this award.
More information can be found in
this UVa Today article.

02 April 2014
Graduate Student Sandy Liss and Undergraduate Student Catherine Zucker were jointly awarded a 2014 Double Hoo Research Grant from UVa. From the Double Hoo website: "The Double Hoo Research Grant supports pairs of undergraduate and graduate scholars seeking to pursue joint research projects. The award is intended to encourage collaborative interaction between the undergraduate and graduate communities at the University."